Too dependent on Google? 10 ideas to fix that!

I was recently asked how I would deal with a website that gets 90% of traffic from Google. Here are some musings on that topic:

1. Stop being an SEO. Start being a Product Manager.

Start treating your website like a product. Iterate. Improve. Innovate. Delight your visitors. Make time-on-site and return-rate your number one priority.

2. Collect opt-Ins like Pokémon cards

Start treating any kind of contact opt-in as a conversion. That can be an E-Mail DOI or an opt-in for Messenger, WeChat, WhastApp or Browser-Notifications. Do CRO for these.

3. Get them to log in.

Get people to log in. Make it simple with login via Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

4. Incentivize account registration

Offer some kind of gift, special or discount for newly registered users. Promote that to non-logged-in users that are likely to register.

5. Give away Vouchers

Selling something? Provide buyers with a voucher for their next purchase.

6. Your CRM is your new best friend.

Build a good CRM. Build rich customer profiles.

7. Become obsessed with personalization

User your CRM data to slice and dice contacts into small target audiences for Marketing Automation.

8. Emprace your inner spammer

Build a newsletter. Even better, build an everletter. Personalize it as much as possible.

9. Make it an app

Build a smartphone app that actually has a benefit for users.

10. Look into alternative search engines

Look into other search engines. Depending on your offerings, Facebook, Instagram, WeChat, LinkedIn, Slideshare, Youtube, Pinterest, Booking, TripAdvisor, Yelp, Amazon, eBay, Wish, Etsy, or AliExpress might be relevant search engines to discover your content.

Obviously not every idea applies to every website, target audience or business model. Feel like I missed something? Please comment!